Demi Lovato Opens Up, More Than Ever, About Her Darkest Days

Demi Lovato has always been candid with fans about her past drug and alcohol abuse, but in a recent interview with “Access Hollywood,” she opened up about exactly how bad things got before she sought treatment. She said her fans would be “shocked” by the truth about her darkest days.

“I’m very, very good at manipulating people, and that was something that I did in my disease,” the 21-year-old songstress and “X-Factor” host told interviewer Kit Hoover. “I would manipulate everyone around me. There were times I would just continue to lie so that everything looked OK on the outside.”

At one point, Demi couldn’t go more than an hour without cocaine. “I couldn’t go without 30 minutes to an hour without cocaine, and I would bring it on airplanes,” she revealed. “I would smuggle it basically and just wait until everyone in first class would go to sleep and I would do it right there.”

By 19, the “Neon Lights” singer hit rock bottom. “I was going to the airport and I had a Sprite bottle just filled with vodka, and it was just nine in the morning and I was throwing up in the car and this was just to get on a plane to go back to LA to the sober living house that I was staying at. … When I hit that moment I was like, … I was like, ‘Oh my God … that is alcoholic behavior.'”

According to MTV’s Half of Us, drinking alone is one of the key signs of alcoholic behavior. And whether you do it once or often, taking any drugs for recreational purposes is abuse. Demi’s story demonstrates just how bad things can get — fast — when people don’t use substances responsibly.

Demi’s always been an advocate for mental health, and she encourages everyone with similar issues not to be afraid or ashamed to take the right steps to restore theirs. Just like we tell our friends and family when our bodies ache, there’s nothing wrong with opening up about whatever’s ailing your heart, mind and soul. In fact, Demi’s career and fan base have skyrocketed since she opened up to the world. More importantly, she’s more in love with herself than ever.

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Demi Wants To Help You

Check out Demi's page on Half of Us, where she uses her voice to help other speak up about emotional health issues.